


Another Round of Halloween Mischief

by notbeloved07



Series: Science Bros and Holiday Shenanigans [2]
Category: Marvel (Movies), Marvel Avengers Movies Universe, The Avengers (2012)
Genre: Flirting, Fluff, Geek Love, Halloween, M/M, Science Boyfriends, Science Bros, Teasing, Trolling
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-10-27
Updated: 2012-10-27
Packaged: 2017-11-17 03:58:02
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 933
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/547373
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/notbeloved07/pseuds/notbeloved07
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Bruce and Tony tease each other and troll their team-mates on Halloween.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Another Round of Halloween Mischief

**Author's Note:**

> (This is not actually a sequel to "Pumpkin Pi".)

Tony was gesticulating wildly to Steve and trying to explain something about polyform folding and singular points in moduli spaces, but his mouth snapped shut when Bruce clambered into the living room wearing the Iron Man costume he had been making.

“Nice,” Tony smiled. “You look dashing!”

“Thanks. Why the sudden interest in folding?” Bruce asked. “Overheard your earlier babble. Not thinking of going into molecular biology are you?”

“Not _protein_ folding, idiot. My costume isn’t working.”

His costume looked like the clothes Bruce was wearing the day they met on the helicarrier--purple shirt and simple khakis.

“It’s supposed to unfold into a Hulk costume when I announce that I’m angry. And I ran all the simulations to make sure there wouldn’t be hang ups--it was even working this morning!”

“Performance issues,” Bruce smirked. “Not uncommon. One out of five.”

Tony glared at him.

“Just getting into character,” Bruce shrugged.

“Hang on,” Steve interrupted. “Did you make Hulk-out material?”

“That _is_ what I’ve been saying,” Tony replied. He started to look through code on his tablet.

“Isn’t that dangerous? All that radiation?”

“No!” Tony grimaced. “As I’ve been explaining, it’s just folding. None of that ostensible violation of conversation of mass-energy or any bad stuff like that.”

Tony paused for a moment, and then turned to Bruce. “Not that Hulk does that either, mind you. I know he just borrows energy from the vacuum, which is _awesome_ ; wouldn’t ever accuse you of actually violating--”

“Hey, it’s all right,” Bruce interrupted. “I’m not offended.”

“Of course not.” Tony smirked. “I was just getting into character. Need to be suitably apologetic. Now, I’m so sorry for existing, but perhaps if I stand over here and fidget a little bit, I can properly fade into-- Ow!”

Bruce put away the miniaturised voltage generator he had just used to poke Tony.

“I’m so sorry, am I in your way?” Tony asked with wide-eyed sincerity.

“Always,” Bruce drawled, leaning in to kiss him.

They could practically hear Steve rolling his eyes as he left.

“Hey! This is you breaking character, right?” Tony asked as Bruce started to paw at his clothes. “Because I wasn’t _that_ lecherous. In fact, I resisted kissing you for _three whole days_! I should get a medal.”

“Or maybe something more than a medal, hmm?”

“Stop teasing. I’m trying to get this costume to work, and you being all gorgeous in that suit really isn’t-- Aha! I found you, you little bug!”

Bruce watched him tap away at the tablet, fixing the bug. With a wide grin, Tony hit “run”, announced "I'm angry" and his costume started to unfold.

“Ha! Yes. Hulk smash,” Tony shouted as his costume grew.

It was gorgeous to look at and undoubtedly a marvel of engineering, as was everything Tony did, but Bruce’s wonder was interrupted when Thor sauntered in.

“Good evening," Thor boomed. "What is this, my friends? Why are you two dressed up as each other? And why are there all these pumpkin lanterns?”

“Hulk tired,” Tony muttered at his costume. This was apparently the command for de-hulking and the costume started to shrink again.

“It’s Halloween tonight,” Bruce smiled at Thor. “An American festival of Love. On this most holy evening, those of us fortunate enough to be with the hallowed-mate-of-our-soul dress as each other in honour of our bond.”

Tony fully de-hulked, smiled at Bruce before joining in on the “explanation”.

“The lanterns symbolise the guidance of one soul to another,” Tony supplied, solemnly putting an arm around Bruce. “For the hallowed-mate-of-our-soul is the one who lights the path when all else is darkness.”

“Pumpkins are hardy plants that tend to yield a fair crop even when rice and wheat fail,” Bruce continued, holding Tony tight. “In history, they have often been a life-saver before a harsh winter. Thus, the pumpkin symbolises the status of your true hallowed mate as the one who gets you through the lows in your life.”

“And that, in a nutshell, is Halloween.”

“That is magnificent, my brothers.” Thor nodded. “Now, I lament the fact that I cannot be with my dear Jane this evening. What do those who are separated from the hallowed-mate-of-their-souls do on such an evening?”

“There are some who dress in a dreadful sight to bemoan their distance from their beloveds,” Bruce replied. “Others still try to lift their spirits by dressing in a silly fashion.”

“But those like you, who always hold their loved ones at heart, may show their love by dressing as their beloveds, to honour them even in absence.”

“I shall,” Thor nodded again.

Tony grinned. “Jarvis, pull up any pictures of Jane Foster in an evening gown, will you? At conferences, awards ceremonies, receptions, anything decently formal. And call up my tailors while you’re at it. Find anyone who will take an order on such short notice.”

“Sir, I feel it is my duty to point out--”

“Mute.”

Natasha stepped into the room holding a Russian copy of War and Peace in her hands, and Bruce and Tony could not have planned this any better.

“Seriously? Halloween?” Natasha scoffed. “Halloween is for children.”

Thor bristled. “My shield-sister! How could you possibly condemn such a sacred holiday? Such a celebration of the true bond--”

“I think we need to get back to lab,” Tony looked to Bruce as Thor continued his diatribe.

“Superconducting magnet,” Bruce muttered following Tony. “It’s gonna quench in five minutes if we don’t reset it.”

They barely managed to make it out before the conversation devolved into a discussion about the meaning--and meaninglessness--of love.

**Author's Note:**

> Sorry for this, guys. Just some things my sleep-deprived brain came up with. This past week was the week from hell.


End file.
